ALICEE.KOENINGER

KOENINGER, Alice E. (Furtek) 1925-2016 of Chestnut Hill. Alice, age 90, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 11, 2016 at home, after saying goodbye to her loving family. Born October 2, 1925 in Chicopee, daughter of the late Walter and Julia (Sliwa) Furtek, she lived most of her life in Ludlow and for the past three years in Chestnut Hill. She was a graduate of Chicopee High School, Class of 1943 where she was a distinguished debater and member of the Pro Merito Society. Alice began her career as a clerk-stenographer at Westover Regional Hospital at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee during World War II. In 1946, she joined Chicopee Savings Bank in a secretarial position. From 1949 to 1951, she fulfilled a life-long dream of working in Washington, D.C. when she served as congressional secretary to U.S. Representative Foster Furcolo, who later became the Governor of Massachusetts. Following her time in Washington, Alice returned to Western Massachusetts and Chicopee Savings Bank. Despite leaving Washington, she continued her interest and involvement in government and politics, serving as the Western Mass Treasurer for John Fitzgerald Kennedy's successful 1952 Senate Campaign. In 1954, she worked briefly for Eastern Airlines in Boston before taking a secretarial position at Monsanto Chemical Company in Springfield, where she met her husband, Ed, a chemical engineer. They were married in 1955. From 1958 to 1959, Alice served as executive secretary to the President of Fome-cor, a joint venture between Monsanto and St. Regis Paper Company. Following her retirement from Fome-cor, Alice became an active volunteer at Ursuline Academy, Springfield, where her three children attended elementary and middle school, at Christ the King Church, Ludlow, where she was a communicant, and as secretary to the Ludlow Conservation Commission. In recent years, she enjoyed keeping up with her grandchildren's activities and made many new friends when she and Ed moved to an assisted living community in Chestnut Hill in 2013. Alice is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Edward C. Koeninger; loving children, Julie and her husband Peter D'Anieri of Wellesley, Steven and his partner, Jennifer Martin of Wells, Maine and W. David and his wife, Rebecca Zietlow of Burlington, Vermont; cherished grandchildren. Andrew, Matt and Thomas D'Anieri, Elizabeth Koeninger and Alice and Zoe Koeninger. Family and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial for Alice at 11AM on Saturday in Christ the King Church, 41 Warsaw Ave., Ludlow. Burial will follow in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Chicopee. There are no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to
, 516 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104.

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